Whiners complain about what they don’t have and don’t know. Winners figure out how to get what they don’t have and learn what they don’t know. Because of the low cost of entry of network marketing, there is a plethora of people that would fall into the whiners category. Fortunately, no whiners read my blog as they think I am yelling at them so congrats on being a winner!

If you want to learn about the wonderful (and massive) world of internet marketing from the pros, Digital Altitude is where it’s at. Their products might cost up to $10k+, but you’re getting access to a toolbox of pure gold. Then there’s their commission rate…up to 60%. Just take a second to think about what a 60% commission rate on a $10k+ product looks like. Not bad, huh?
A downline distributor is a recruited distributor from whom the sponsor (the one who recruited them) gains commissions. Every compensation plan involves recruiting other distributors to help sell the company’s product. Some compensation plans provide higher commissions for recruiting successful distributors (quality over quantity). Other plans only focus on simply hiring more distributors (quantity over quality). Overall, downline distributors help sponsors gain extra commissions.

Facebook used to be an easy source to tap into, but since they have formed a public company with shareholders who need to be kept happy, Facebook have changed their Terms of Service several times recently and have clamped down on a number of things that used to make lead generation relatively easy. They have discouraged siphoning off clients to external web sites and CPA offers, and have raised the cost of advertisements that do this. It remains a viable lead source however.

I believe the ones that don’t make it in the industry (if they chose a good one) don’t give it enough time (like you said they quit before a year is up) and commitment to doing what it takes to grow. I don’t spam FB and only 2 family members order product but I have at least 100+ home school moms making >$2000/mth. Some team members make more, some less. It’s what they put into it (business wise not monetary)
Growing a MLM, is recruiting others who you hope to help find success growing their own business within your organization. However, the reason many do not grow their organization is because they are not comfortable following suit of their up-line. I would never ever pay for mlm leads for a few reasons. One, I am not comfortable cold calling, selling, pitching, begging, prospecting, therefore, I would be insane to think those in my downline would be. I would never do what I would not think that my downline could do, and asking them to put themselves into so much fear and discomfort, would make me untrustworthy. I totally agree with Sukhi’s post, MLM’s are based on trust. If you want to talk to people, talk to them, build a relationship, network with others.
4. Cassette tape or video sponsoring. If your company has an exciting cost-effective product cassette tape, it can be used in place of or in addition to a brochure. These are automatic merchandisers that stimulate people to action. While opportunity tapes are important, most successful recruiters lead with a good product tape. Once people appreciate your product offering, they're more open to the business opportunity.
As in many other areas, the FTC periodically meets with consumer groups, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to learn more about evolving practices and concerns. Also, the FTC has issued and updates consumer and business educational materials. In addition, the FTC’s Bureau of Economics has devoted and continues to devote its research expertise to issues relating to direct sales and multi-level marketing. These various efforts can provide valuable insight to inform the FTC’s investigations of MLMs, which involve fact-specific and comprehensive analysis of multiple factors.
Build an email list. There is a system for working with leads. The first step is getting them to be aware of and take an interest in what you have—by visiting your website, for example. The next best step is to ask your leads to sign up for your email list. You can get them to sign up by offering something for free, such as a report or something useful, from your website. For instance, if you're selling wellness products, then you might offer a guide to good-for-you ingredients or recipes. This will allow you to communicate with your prospects and provide valuable information related to your business and the general field that it's in, such as special sales, events, news, and research—and stay top-of-mind to your past, current, and possible future customers. Just be sure that you're following the laws and regulations regarding email marketing.
Your comment and it’s militant nature are the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I believe the doTERRA culture is founded upon. I hope anyone reading this thread choose to look past your article and it’s attack on YoungLiving when basing their decision as to which company they choose to go with. I want them to know that the manner in which you needlessly attacked them is in no way a representation of all the other reps nor the company itself.
You already know that MLM has the potential to be one of the most valuable business opportunities that you can possibly get involved with. However, if you are getting started with a new MLM venture, you are engaged in an uphill battle. There are plenty of other MLM pros and entrepreneurs out there who would like to use your prospects to build their list!
We strive to verify all of our data and to also ensure your best experience we also offer this lead Replacement policy. If you receive a Disconnected, wrong number or bad email address, we will replace them. Simply complete a support ticket with the leads in question and we will add fresh business opportunity leads to your account. No Questions Asked.. WE Stand Behind Our LEADS!
Use a tool. You should not be explaining everything about your opportunity or whatever it is you have to sell over the phone, point them to a video, sizzle call, event in their area, anything but you try to explain it all over the phone. You can say “The first step to see if this is even a fit for you is to watch our short overview video at ________________”

The most persuasive documentation is obtained through direct methods and used to verify that retail sales are made to real customers. Documentation obtained through indirect methods – such as policies requiring participants to attest they have sold a certain amount of product to qualify to receive reward payments – are less likely to be persuasive, with unsupported assertions being even less persuasive.

Thanks for this list. Loved seeing Monat as #1! I am a Market Partner for this company and the money is crazy good because the products are awesome. I was disappointed to see Plexus at #28 and I wasn’t impressed by what you had to say about them. Plexus is NOT a weight loss company. Their products promote a healthy gut and they are clinically proven to decrease inflammation and balance blood sugar. Weight loss is a natural side effect of body balance. The products work and there are a lot of people I know personally making good money with Plexus.

When purchasing leads, you need to know what type of information the person was looking at and where they came from. Nowadays most business opportunity leads are generated online. The leads have done various business opportunity searches on a search engine, such as “make extra money from home”, “start a home business”, etc. and have come to a landing page. They have requested information and are waiting to receive it. Sometimes these leads have visited multiple places to get more information. The quicker you get the leads after they optin the better they are, however, the more you will pay.

Multi-level marketing is a strategy some direct-sales companies use to encourage their existing distributors to recruit new distributors by paying the existing distributors a percentage of their recruits' sales. The recruits are the distributor's "downline." All distributors also make money through direct sales of products to customers. Amway is an example of a well-known direct-sales company that uses multi-level marketing.

Many MLM companies recommend starting with a list of 100 people you know, called your warm market. Although it's not a bad place to start when looking for customers and business builders, the technique could also backfire and get to the point where you're annoying friends and family. You're better off spending your time finding people who are interested in what you've got rather than trying to convince your commuting buddy to sign up when he doesn't want to.

Hey Erica, I’m a doterra gal also. Just over 3 years ago I just wanted to see if these hippie oils really worked from there I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and I share with whomever will listen. I recently read this in the leadership magazine and I love it. “An oil for every household, a drop to change a life”. That is my goal. I never plan to get rich off my sharing but if I can change a life, help someone along the way it will be worth my time.
An example of a high-profile multi-level marketing company defending its practices is Herbalife Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of weight-loss and nutritional products with more than 500,000 distributors. Although the FTC had been investigating Herbalife, it was activist investor William Ackman who shed a national spotlight on the company by shorting $1 billion of the company’s stock in 2013. Ackman accused the company of operating a pyramid scheme and backed his allegations with a bet the company’s stock price would fall under the weight of the scam.

Don’t give up, and don’t throw money into areas where you don’t have to. There’s no such thing as completely free marketing leads – you are always risking something, whether it is your brand, or your future earning potential. However, with good networking, passion, and the right people, you can achieve success. Talk to some mentors and more experienced marketers today, and see what they have to say for you. You may be surprised at how much you can bring in, with the right choices when you are getting started.

There is no single method for creating and retaining such documentation. Different MLMs employ a variety of approaches to demonstrate that their product is sold to retail customers, including collecting retail sales receipts created by participants; having retail customers buy product directly from the company, rather than from a participant’s inventory; and having product users sign up with the company as customers who are not participating in a business opportunity. Other MLMs use other approaches or a combination of approaches.
If you recruit a distributor who advances to the final step and breaks away from your group, what happens to your commissions? Yes, your total group volume will take a hit, because you’ve lost one of your best recruits. However, most companies will provide you with a bonus commission, referred to as an override commission, for creating breakaway legs (or recruits that end up breaking away, forming their own group).
Don’t give up, and don’t throw money into areas where you don’t have to. There’s no such thing as completely free marketing leads – you are always risking something, whether it is your brand, or your future earning potential. However, with good networking, passion, and the right people, you can achieve success. Talk to some mentors and more experienced marketers today, and see what they have to say for you. You may be surprised at how much you can bring in, with the right choices when you are getting started.
Obviously, you don’t have to steal their resources, you don’t have to deprive them of something that makes them better. In fact, to become successful with MLM system and build a fortune, it is your role to empower everyone in your network to make them become successful. The more succesful people you’ve created, the greater you become and the more you’ll get paid.
A few people do make big money from MLMs. And these people are often trotted out in promotional videos, celebrated at annual events, and very publicly ‘rewarded’ with prizes like prestigious cars (although these ‘prizes’ aren’t as generous as they first appear – you simply get a discount on the lease which you must take out in your own name, and if your sales fall, the discount ends…). You also need to promote the company on the car they ‘give’ you.
On the other hand, if you are the owner of the company where those 100 persons have offered their skills, time and talents, and if you can gain $1.00 from each person on the field, you will earn $3000 after 30 days doing nothing. Obviously, the time spent for both the worker and the owner are the same (30 days), but the gain on the side of the owner is tremendously huge.
The FTC’s case against BurnLounge provides an example. BurnLounge argued that its participants bought product packages consisting of sales websites and music-related merchandise because they wanted to use the merchandise. When BurnLounge’s product packages were untied from the business opportunity, however, monthly sales of these packages plummeted by almost 98 percent. At most, actual demand was responsible for only a small minority of package sales, and BurnLounge was found to have an unfair or deceptive compensation structure.
A good network marketing company rewards leadership, just like any structured business. Most businesses have a pyramid structure where the people at the top, ie. CEOs, SVPs, VPs, are the highest paid people in the company. The unique opportunity you have with a Network Marketing business is that you START at the top of your business, and your income will be dependent on how large of a team you build “below” you.
No, It is not advisable to buy MLM leads. The company which is selling you leads won’t guarantee any sales from those leads. In fact the conversion rate from those leads won’t be much. Think you have spent few dollars for those leads and ended up with less conversion rate than what you have expected; you lost both money and time. Why did i mention time here? Yes, you lost the time while waiting for the leads, which you are in conviction, that they will be converted into customers. Instead you can learn some skills, Copywriting skills, for enticing the real customers into your MLM Business.
Unlike other distribution methods MLM/NM companies don't advertise their products on TV or other mass media but rather depend on their customers to share the experience and recommend the products to their friends and relatives through word of mouth. They in return get 10-12 % profit of the sale value. Word of mouth/ recommending someone is a very powerful marketing tool which is cheaper and could reach more people because the selling of product is based on trust. Would you not buy a product your close friend uses and finds beneficial and asks you to try ?
Once you’ve made your connections, presented your opportunity, validated you and your company, ask for the sale! So many opportunities are missed simply because a person was too busy connecting and chatting, instead of asking for the business. You are looking for serious people to join and become a part of your team, don’t forget to ask. The experience and hands on training you get by just getting on the phone and making calls, is priceless. The more you are calling leads, the better you will become.

Thanks for this post. Very helpful. I do like direct sales; one reason for this is that it helps keep alive that age-old tradition of people interacting face-to-face (rather than mainly through texting and social media). For that reason, I think MLMs should target the lonely Millennials. Anyway, I was a member/distributor of Advocare for over 10 years and still miss the products and the activities in the company, now that I am temporarily out. I still plan to sign up again when I can afford it (long story–I’ll spare you). I am now involved in Melaleuca, and I must say in their defense that Melaleuca’s products are actually not overpriced. Because Preferred Customers are not only not expected, but also NOT ALLOWED to turn around and sell the products at the retail price, everyone pays the same low prices. (Granted, one can indeed go to the website and buy directly from the company if they do not want to become a Preferred Customer. Why would someone do that when the annual membership is only $19? Only if they do not want to commit to the minimum monthly requirement for Preferred Customers.) Public, keep this in mind! Don’t be fooled by the rebels who are selling old Melaleuca products on Amazon for way above the retail price!! You’re much better off buying fresh products directly from the factory, even if you pay retail price. Just sayin. My big question: What about Tupperware? I have been a Tupperware consultant for about 6 months, and I have found it to be extremely difficult to keep business going. The directors training me have said that Tupperware is the second most widely recognized brand name in the world, second only to Coca-Cola. If that is the case, why is it so hard to find people willing to host Tupperware parties? Why does it seem so hard to sell? Also, is it just me…Or, does Tupperware’s compensation plan stink?

Knowing your system isn’t just a type of technology, rather a sales system that you put your prospect through to get to a sale. You should have clear goals for each prospecting call, from the time you say “hello” to the “next step”. The next step could range from setting an appointment, a three way call, sending an email, or conducting a presentation. When you get a voicemail message, are you leaving a voicemail that gives detailed information about how to

Our goal is to provide you with the best possible tools to build your network marketing business. There are some critical areas in building your business that are very important and can never be overlooked. Having new prospects look at your business is by far the most important task you can ever accomplish in network marketing. The next key, is having the skill set and knowing what to say to prospects. We provide ongoing real-time prospects that are looking for ways to make an additional income by working from home and we also provide you with scripts and training calls where you can listen to us do live calls and speak to prospects.
Some business opportunities may present themselves as a way for participants to get rich or lead a wealthy lifestyle. They may make such representations through words or through images such as expensive houses, luxury automobiles, and exotic vacations. If participants generally do not achieve such results, these representations likely would be false or misleading to current or prospective participants.

So the bigger your network, the larger will be the sales thus big commissions every week or month. Best part is passive income/residual income. Once you have a big team you get commission from sale made by people u dont even know because they were referred by some 100th guy but u still make money for that sale although your effort was nothing in it. It may sound easy but creating and training your network takes a lot of time and efforts. THIS IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME !! But if you work hard you can earn money in short period of time u would never earn in jobs.

When you hit over a billy in annual sales, that’s reason enough to be on the shortlist. On top of that, they’ve been in the MLM game for over two decades, and they’re now the “largest online wellness shopping club” (basically just sounds like a fancy way of saying they sell a lot of miracle diet pills…for our rankings of the best women diet pills are here).
First, Elliot, thank you for this article. Your sense of truly wanting to help comes through and it’s refreshing. Like MommyFinance, I too have suffered PTSD from previous runs at MLM but I have been looking for legitimate ways of making extra income and seems I’m being directed toward trying MLM again. Your article gave me hope that there are some good ones out there. What you said about finding the one that fits me and leaving a legacy for family really turned on a light for me and I greatly appreciate that. A wine business is not quite up my alley but I will certainly direct those who might be interested your way.

“MLMs very rarely emphasize the extreme likelihood of failure, or the extreme likelihood of financial loss, from participation in MLM. MLMs are also seldom forthcoming about the fact that any significant success of the few individuals at the top of the MLM participant pyramid is in fact dependent on the continued financial loss and failure of all other participants below them in the MLM pyramid.” (Wikipedia)

A downline distributor is a recruited distributor from whom the sponsor (the one who recruited them) gains commissions. Every compensation plan involves recruiting other distributors to help sell the company’s product. Some compensation plans provide higher commissions for recruiting successful distributors (quality over quantity). Other plans only focus on simply hiring more distributors (quantity over quality). Overall, downline distributors help sponsors gain extra commissions.
Most people who try network marketing fail – not because the products they are marketing are poor, but because they do not realise how much effort network marketing is, and how much time they need to put into it. All too often, would-be marketers give up when they get to the six month point, but they are not quite turning a good profit. What they don’t realise is that if they had waited it out just a few months more, and kept on marketing and expanding their business, then they could have been profitable.
Using link referral sites is another great way to generate free MLM leads. Link referral sites are basically a database of websites and blogs grouped in categories. After creating an account the network marketer will be asked to review up to 15 other websites and write a review of each on a daily basis. This is a great way to make new friends and expand the network of referrals.
On a side note, I started using doTERRA about five years ago and love the oils! I didn’t join them to sell, or make money. I just wanted to raise awareness in what they could do and help with for individuals and families, as they did me and mine. In fact, many of my friends are now distributors (not under me). Lost opportunities? Not at all, in my book. More power to them! Back to R + F, and a little more insight from you would certainly scratch an itch.

So the bigger your network, the larger will be the sales thus big commissions every week or month. Best part is passive income/residual income. Once you have a big team you get commission from sale made by people u dont even know because they were referred by some 100th guy but u still make money for that sale although your effort was nothing in it. It may sound easy but creating and training your network takes a lot of time and efforts. THIS IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME !! But if you work hard you can earn money in short period of time u would never earn in jobs.

Multi-level marketing (simplified Chinese: 传销; traditional Chinese: 傳銷; pinyin: chuán xiāo) was first introduced to China by American, Taiwanese, and Japanese companies following the Chinese economic reform of 1978. This rise in multi-level marketing's popularity coincided with economic uncertainty and a new shift towards individual consumerism. Multi-level marketing was banned on the mainland by the government in 1998, citing social, economic, and taxation issues.[62] Further regulation "Prohibition of Chuanxiao" (where MLM is a type of Chuanxiao was enacted in 2005, clause 3 of Chapter 2 of the regulation states having downlines is illegal.[11] O'Regan wrote 'With this regulation China makes clear that while Direct Sales is permitted in the mainland, Multi-Level Marketing is not'.[10]
For more information, John Oliver did a fantastic segment about the horrors of MLMs. The 2016 documentary, Betting on Zero, investigates the allegations that MLMs are nothing but legal pyramid schemes. This article also does a wonderful job of breaking down the reasons why MLMs are doomed to failure. I encourage anyone who is thinking about signing up for an MLM to watch these.
The 2004 letter should not be misconstrued as suggesting that an MLM can lawfully pay compensation on wholesale purchases that are not based on actual consumer demand by characterizing such purchases as “internal consumption.” The 2004 letter itself does not support such a construction, nor do subsequent judicial decisions. For example, the court in BurnLounge held that, notwithstanding the defendants’ characterization that participants bought packages for “internal consumption,” the compensation paid on such purchases was not tied to consumer demand for the merchandise in the packages; instead, the opportunity to advance in the marketing program was the major driver of package purchases. Similarly, in granting a preliminary injunction against Vemma Nutrition Company, the court rejected the argument that individuals who had joined as business opportunity “Affiliates” only wished to purchase product for their own consumption, finding that this claim was “not based in fact.”
Ever been confused about how a “home business” works? Of course you have, many of us have. Most people have heard the term MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) and usually at the end of that the word, “scheme” is added – giving the whole business model a bad name. Well…let’s change your negative perception and tell you how your Great Aunt Joan, actually earned that pink Cadillac from Mary Kay ! It’s brilliant really…